Publications by authors named "Patrizia Di Cosimo"
Gut microbiota composition in Himalayan and Andean populations and its relationship with diet, lifestyle and adaptation to the high-altitude environment.
Andrea Quagliariello Monica Di Paola Sara De Fanti Guido Alberto Gnecchi-Ruscone Lucia Martinez-Priego Patrizia Di Cosimo
J Anthropol Sci
December 2019
Article Synopsis
- People living at high altitudes, like the Sherpa in Nepal and the Aymara in Bolivia, have changed over time to survive with less oxygen and food.
- Scientists studied how these people's gut bacteria are different from those living at low altitudes, like some Europeans.
- The unique gut bacteria found in high-altitude populations help them get important nutrients and adapt better to the tough living conditions up high.
Extensive European and African admixture coupled with loss of Amerindian lineages makes the reconstruction of pre-Columbian history of Native Americans based on present-day genomes extremely challenging. Still open questions remain about the dispersals that occurred throughout the continent after the initial peopling from the Beringia, especially concerning the number and dynamics of diffusions into South America. Indeed, if environmental and historical factors contributed to shape distinct gene pools in the Andes and Amazonia, the origins of this East-West genetic structure and the extension of further interactions between populations residing along this divide are still not well understood.
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